Going for Gold Standard

January 3, 2018

2017 saw digital advertising and the need for transparency thrust into the spotlight. What does 2018 have in store?

Digital media may have appeared to have taken a bit of a battering in 2017; if digital media was compared to a movie character, it would be Rocky Balboa in Rocky III when he fights Clubber Lang the first time (*spoiler alert* – Rocky heads into the fight as the champ but he loses the fight and his title). In reality, the opposite is true.

The headlines from last year rightly brought key concerns to the top of everyone’s agendas so that it could no longer be ignored. Cross-industry groups were formed long before this and designed to tackle these exact issues, but 2017 delivered a shift in willingness for all to come together. The problem areas identified – including brand safety, fraud & transparency – are now openly being discussed with knowledge improving across the industry.

The launch of the IAB’s Gold Standard late last year serves as another example of how the industry is coming together to implement best practice. This initiative, arguably, may not have been received as well as it has been without the backdrop of the news stories from earlier on in the year.

Navigate are one of a number of companies which are Gold Standard registered and we’re hoping that others get on board to deliver the best possible digital environment for brands using digital advertising.

So what does have 2018 have in store? Less of Rocky Balboa in his first bout with Clubber Lang, more of the Rocky in his rematch (*spoiler alert* – he comes back stronger than ever).